New Member joins Jewish Witnesses
Amy S, a recent arrival on the Ann Arbor scene, and a previous Palestine solidarity worker from Somerville, Massachusetts and the city's Somerville Divestment Project, has joined the ranks of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends. She brings powerful views and a new energy to our group. Welcome, Amy!
WP&F in the [Ann Arbor] News
Today's edition carries the following article about our vigils and Israel's occupation.
"Beth Israel responds with donations - Jewish Witnesses groups says it will continue protests"
, see text below signatureAnn Arbor City Council Rebuked
Taking a page from the Marx Brothers, JWPF member Laurel F wrote and delivered JWPF's Resolution Condemning City Council on Monday. Her speech was covered by the Ann Arbor News.
Text of article, our resolution condemning City Council, and their condemnation of us follows signature.
A Classic Retold
A late-in-life read of "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck produced shocking comparisons with the current-day plight of the Palestinian people: sharecroppers who had worked the land for three generations get forcibly displaced by the greed of outside interests, and are treated as less than humans. These “Okies” are today “Palestinian terrorists”. The movie version shows the Joad family watching in horror as a Caterpillar (you guessed it!) tractor demolishes their home, and ends with Ma giving a stirring talk about the invincible will of the people to survive. Rent the movie!
Keeping the Focus
B'Tselem reports in a new-look website ( http://www.btselem.org/English/) that in the period from 9/29/2000 until 1/15/2005, 628 Palestinian minors have been killed by the Israeli "Defense" Forces. During this same time, Palestinians have killed 112 Israeli minors, a ratio of nearly 6:1
Work for Peace,
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends.
Web page: http://www.a2vigil.org
Beth Israel responds with donations - Jewish Witnesses groups says it will continue protests
Wednesday, February 09, 2005BY CATHERINE O'DONNELL
News Staff Reporter
A local group of Jews is responding to demonstrators at Beth Israel Congregation by raising money for the Israeli Red Cross.
Members and friends of Synagogue Protest Unacceptable Respond Now (SPURN) donate to the Israeli Red Cross in proportion to the number of Jewish Witnesses for Peace who turn up at Beth Israel Sabbath services. Typically, seven to 10 members of Jewish Witnesses for Peace hold signs urging Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas.
So far, SPURN's effort has raised $22,600.
And while Jewish Witnesses leader Henry Herskovitz praised the fundraising, he said his group will continue demonstrating because Israeli occupation of Palestinian land continues.
"We're convinced Jews and Palestinians can live together as equals, but never when one ethnic group claims superiority and lords it over another," Herskovitz said.
He also said his group might extend its demonstrations, which members call vigils, to area churches. "Peace is the church's business," he said.
The moves come as hopes brighten for peace in the Middle East. Mahmoud Abbas, who recently succeeded Yasser Arafat as leader of the Palestinian Authority, met Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - the first time high-level talks had been held in the four years since the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, began.
Herskovitz and his group have been demonstrating outside Beth Israel for more than a year. The group asked for regular access to Beth Israel meetings, hoping to engage congregants on Israeli occupation of Palestine, but has been denied. Jewish Witnesses chose Beth Israel, Herskovitz said, because support of Israel is an integral part of conservative Judaism.
The group also was picketing Hiller's Market, the grocery store at Arborland, but stopped at the end of January, saying the Southfield company no longer advertises that it sends profits from Israeli-made goods back to Israel.
SPURN's efforts began in late July, as Beth Israel members sought peaceful responses to the demonstrators, said congregation member Barry Gross.
"If this had happened two, three or four times, that would be one thing, but it's been 18 months and feels like a siege," said Gross, a radiologist at the University of Michigan Hospitals.
"It doesn't feel good to cross a picket line," he said. "What we've been going through has been very unpleasant."
SPURN now includes 199 donors, 164 of whom are members of Beth Israel, Gross said. And it has its own Web site: http://www.aaspurn.org. A written statement from SPURN says it chose Magen David Adom, Israel's Red Cross, because it serves all victims of violence regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Catherine O'Donnell can be reached at codonnell@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6831.
Vigil group critical
of City Council
(from Ann Arbor News, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005)
Members of the Jewish Witnesses For Peace and Friends passed a resolution Sunday night criticizing the Ann Arbor City Council for condemning their vigils outside Beth Israel Congregation, 2000 Washtenaw Ave.
Organization members presented the resolution to the council at its Monday meeting. It called the council's criticism "ignorant and misguided."
In October, council members voted 8-0 to condemn the protests, stating that freedom to worship in peace is a right of all people.
It was passed to condemn people holding political protests outside "houses of worship."
ESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE VALIDITY AND NECESSITY OF INFORMATIVE VIGILS AND CONDEMNING IGNORANT MISSTATEMENTS BY THE ANN ARBOR CITY COUNCIL
Whereas, the Ann Arbor City Council saw fit to pass a resolution condemning our weekly vigils at the Beth Israel Congregation but has refused even to discuss its own Human Rights Commission's Resolution in support of ending U.S. military aid to the Israeli occupation of Palestine;
Whereas, the United States government continues to support the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the city of Ann Arbor is located in the United States;
Whereas, the Palestinian people's freedom to worship in peace is daily being violated by the Israeli army, which keeps the Palestinians under house arrest for much of the year, and severely curtails their freedom of movement at all times, including the Sabbath and holidays;
Whereas, both the City Council and Beth Israel Congregation have repeatedly blocked any meaningful discussion of the occupation and have demonized the individuals who have dared to raise the issue;
Whereas, the members of the City Council have consistently ignored our invitations to attend educational and factual movie presentations dealing with the occupation;
Whereas, the members of the City Council had spent little or no time observing our vigils before they passed their resolution;
Whereas, the City Council mislabeled our vigil, which is an inobtrusive, consciousness-raising action, as a "picket," an action designed to obstruct access to a venue;
Whereas, standing silently and holding an informative sign in front of a house of worship in no way constitutes harrassment of anyone;
RESOLVED, that the group Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends affirms the validity and necessity of our vigils at the Beth Israel Congregation and at similar sites where the Israeli occupation of Palestine is supported; and
RESOLVED, that the group Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends condemns the Ann Arbor City Council's ignorant and misguided resolution condemning our weekly vigils.
RESOLUTION AFFIRMING FREEDOM TO WORSHIP WITHOUT INTERFERENCE AND CONDEMNING THE PICKETING OF HOUSES OF WORSHIP
Whereas, All people with all viewpoints have a right to freedom of speech where it does not infringe on others' constitutional rights;
Whereas, Democracy and the freedoms it engenders cannot exist without civil discourse that shows tolerance for all beliefs;
Whereas, Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are both paramount values at the heart of American democracy;
Whereas, Worship is often central to religious expression;
Whereas, Freedom to worship in peace, without obstruction or interference is the right of all people;
Whereas, State of Michigan laws prohibit interference with religious services;
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor is home to many cultures and denominations of worship;
Whereas, In the City of Ann Arbor, at least one house of worship has been subjected to weekly picketers who confront worshipers and ask passersby to honk their horns and cause a disturbance to worship services;
RESOLVED, That the Ann Arbor City Council affirms the right of people in the City of Ann Arbor to attend services at houses of worship without interference or obstruction; and
RESOLVED, That the Ann Arbor City Council condemns the picketing of houses of worship during the hours when congregants are attending worship services.
Date: October 18, 2004
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Reid, Greden, Easthope, Lowenstein, Higgins, Carlberg, Teall, Woods; Mayor Hieftje